TLDR
Four months after a brutal Olympic crash, Lindsey Vonn walked the Monaco Grand Prix grid with rumored new partner Matthieu Bailet, as a possible ski comeback took shape.
In Monte Carlo, the pit lane became Lindsey Vonn’s runway. The three-time Olympic medalist, 41, arrived at the Monaco Grand Prix in a white crop top and matching trousers that framed a torso chiseled from decades of downhill racing and the past months of rehab.
She joined the Oracle Red Bull Racing camp on the grid, chatting with team personnel and posing for photos as cameras captured something fans have waited to see since her terrifying Winter Olympics crash: Vonn walking easily, without crutches or visible hesitation.
Vonn suffered a complex left leg fracture during her final downhill run at the 2026 Games and has already undergone eight surgeries, according to previous reports. Recently, she walked the Met Gala carpet without crutches, hinting at progress before Monaco.
By the time she strolled the paddock in Monaco, the stride looked surer. Vonn has kept many medical details private, yet her sunny grid walk functioned as a wordless update. The message to fans, sponsors, and the ski establishment was unmistakable. She is not done.
That message was complicated and, arguably, deepened by the man beside her. French alpine racer Matthieu Bailet, 28, was photographed close to Vonn on the grid, echoing a People report that the two have been spending time together away from competition.
In May, People cited a source who said, “They’re getting to know each other,” and described the pair as spending time together in New York City. They were seen backstage at the Broadway musical “The Outsiders,” riding the subway, and shopping in SoHo.
Social media sleuths also noticed Vonn leaving a playful side-eye emoji beneath an Instagram photo of Bailet washing his car shirtless. For a star who has learned the cost of public relationships, the digital flirtation felt intentional, yet carefully measured.
It is Vonn’s first reported romance since her 2025 split from business executive Diego Osorio, which she confirmed early the following year. That breakup, she has suggested, created space to focus on preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics and the grueling recovery that followed. She has noted in past interviews that life with a global ski champion can overwhelm partners who do not understand the scrutiny or schedule.
A fellow World Cup racer understands that world instinctively. If Bailet remains in Vonn’s inner circle, he could become a stabilizing force as she eyes a return. Vonn has been named among 48 athletes nominated to the U.S. Alpine ski team for next season, a procedural move based on past results but also an open door.
Any comeback will take time. Reports indicate she is at least a year and a half away from realistically rejoining the World Cup circuit, and another ACL surgery away. For now, red carpets, Broadway outings, and Formula One grids keep her public image luminous while her leg quietly continues its repair.
In Monaco, framed by roaring engines and the sunlit harbor, Lindsey Vonn was not racing. She was rewriting the narrative around her injury, her love life, and her legacy, one confident step along the pit lane at a time.
Does seeing Lindsey Vonn back on her feet with a fellow racer by her side change how you view her comeback story, or her love life, or both? Share your take.
